The report's authors, Jill Pruetz and Paco Bertolani, said the finding could have implications for human evolution.

Chimps had not been previously observed hunting other animals with tools.

Pruetz and Bertolani made the discovery at their research site in Fongoli, Senegal, between March 2005 and July 2006.

"There were hints that this behavior might occur, but it was one time at a different site," said Jill Pruetz, assistant professor of anthropology at Iowa State University, US.

"While in Senegal for the spring semester, I saw about 13 different hunting bouts. So it really is habitual."

Jabbing weapon

Chimpanzees were observed jabbing the spears into hollow trunks or branches, over and over again. After the chimp removed the tool, it would frequently smell or lick it.

In the vast majority of cases, the chimps used the tools in the manner of a spear, not as probes. The researchers say they were using enough force to injure an animal that may have been hiding inside.

In one case, Pruetz and Bertolani witnessed a chimpanzee extract a bushbaby with a spear.

In most cases, the Fongoli chimpanzees carried out four or more steps to manufacture spears for hunting.

In all but one of the cases, chimps broke off a living branch to make their tool. They would then trim the side branches and leaves.

In a number of cases, chimps also trimmed the ends of the branch and stripped it of bark. Some chimps also sharpened the tip of the tool with their teeth.

Adult males have long been regarded as the hunters in chimp groups.

But the authors of the paper in Current Biology said females, particularly adolescent females, and young chimps in general were seen exhibiting this behaviour more frequently than adult males.

"It's classic in primates that when there is a new innovation, particularly in terms of tool use, the younger generations pick it up very quickly. The last ones to pick up are adults, mainly the males", said Dr Pruetz.

This is because young chimps pick the skill up from their mothers, who they spend a lot of their time with.

You know, if they are learning to use tools we could be missing a trick here. Get an infinite number of them, chain them to a typewriter each and see if one of them can write the complete works of Shakespeare...

Having spent a year in Casamance (Senegal) and the Gambia this does not surprise me.

Even the baboons there are learning, they only mug women and children for food and fruit and leave the men well alone. As for the peanut harvest the monkeys have been evolving ever more complex strategies to get hold of it despite the guards in the "monkey towers".

Chimpanzees in Senegal have been observed using MS Vista, according to a study in the journal Current Biology.

Researchers documented 22 cases of chimps using beige PCs to run Vista

The report's authors, Jill Pruetz and Paco Bertolani, said the finding could have implications for Microsoft's evolution.

Chimps had not been previously observed using vista because it is likely they were too embarassed.

Pruetz and Bertolani made the discovery at their internet cafe in Fongoli, Senegal, between March 2005 and July 2006.

"There were hints that this behavior might occur, but it was one time at a different site," said Jill Pruetz, assistant professor of anthropology at Iowa State University, US.

"While in Senegal for the spring semester, I saw about 1350 different reboots . So it really is habitual."

Jabbing weapon

Chimpanzees were observed jabbing the power switches with sticks or branches, over and over again. After the chimp rebooted the PC, it would frequently slap its head in frustration.

In the vast majority of cases, the chimps used the PC in the manner of a arcade game, not as a computer. The researchers say they were using enough RAM to floor an elephant.

In one case, Pruetz and Bertolani witnessed a chimpanzee run a spreadsheet and a web browser without crashing the machine

In most cases, the Fongoli chimpanzees carried out four or more reboots to log on to mac rumors

In all but one of the cases, chimps went to Dell online to purchase their PCs. They would then convert them to liquid cooling and put flashy neons inside the case

In a number of cases, chimps also purchased PCs from PC world. But were dissatisfied with the salesmans knowledge

Hairy Adult males have long been regarded as the advocates of MS Vista

But the authors of the paper in Current Biology said females, particularly adolescent females, and young chimps in general were seen exhibiting at tendancy toward Mac computors cos they are cool and pretty.

"It's classic in primates that when there is a new innovation, particularly in terms of intel Macs, the younger generations pick it up very quickly. The last ones to pick up are adults, mainly the males", said Dr Pruetz.

This is because young chimps pick the skill up from the mac rumors and similar sites, who they spend a lot of their time with.

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